Surgical site infection in spinal surgery: description of surgical and patient-based risk factors for postoperative infection using administrative claims data.

1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. amir.abdul-jabbar@ucsf.edu

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN:

Retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this study was to investigate the accuracy of using an automated approach to administrative claims data to assess the rate and risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) in spinal procedures.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA:

SSI is a major indicator of health care quality. A wide range of SSI rates have been proposed in the literature depending on clinical setting and procedure type.

METHODS:

All spinal surgeries performed at a university-affiliated tertiary-care center from July 2005 to December 2010 were identified using diagnosis-related group, current procedural terminology, and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes and were validated through chart review. Rates of SSI and associated risk factors were calculated using univariate regression analysis. Odds ratios were calculated through multivariate logistic regression.

CONCLUSION:

Used individually, diagnosis-related group, current procedural terminology, and ICD-9 codes cannot completely capture a patient population. Using an algorithm combining all 3 coding systems to generate both inclusion and exclusion criteria, we were able to analyze a specific population of spinal surgery patients within a high-volume medical center. Within that group, risk factors found to increase infection rates were isolated and can serve to focus hospital-wide efforts to decrease surgery-related morbidity and improve patient outcomes.